Overall most helpful review

Posted on: March 3, 2026

RalphAdelino

Games: 290 Reviews: 3

Absolutely amazing!

I felt like a child again! When the Soul Reaver 1 and 2 remasters came out, not only did they bring back two amazing games (the second being my favorite of all time), but we were also presented with lost levels as bonus material that made me feel like I discovered a secret treasure. However, the sheer amount of content handed to us in this new remaster made me feel like I discovered a portal to a different dimension. One where the game and the devs were treated decently. From the Dark Prophecy demo level to the original version of the stronghold and forges... It really shows how this game was butchered back in 2003 and how much better their original intentions for these levels were. The developers had everything: the passion, the will, the tools, and a bunch of work done to make Defiance as good as Soul Reaver 2 (the peak of the series), yet somehow someone got in the way and decided to throw it all away to appeal to a different audience. This remaster is a love letter to the series, not only for fixing the most jarring problem from the original release (the camera), but also to present us with all this lost treasure that otherwise would be left to oblivion. I really, really wish they would do a remaster for the original Blood Omen as well, just as they did with both Soul Reaver games and now Defiance. It does not need a remake to conquer the hearts of those who play it. A huge thank you to the devs for bringing this series back from the grave. It's so good to hear the greatest voice cast in the history of humanity voicing this characters once again. If it's not clear enough, yes, I absolutely recommend this game, even if the new character models look a little weird compared to their original counterpart (mods will fix that soon, I'm sure of it), plus you can play with the original models with the new lighting, which is an amazing option. Bring us more Legay of Kain (with passion, not greed), I can't have enough of this series even after more than 2 decades.

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Edited on: March 5, 2026

Posted on: March 5, 2026

ArilenaStardream

Verified owner

Games: 122 Reviews: 12

So grateful for this awesome remaster

While the SR remasters were limited by many factors, the Defiance remaster was such a pleasant surprise. The camera, which was the only bad thing about the original, was fixed (a zoom out option would be nice). I love that they added skins, lost levels, location maps, and all the additional content in the menus. I am genuinely ecstatic that my favourite game of all time got so much love in this remaster. I never expected to see anything like this. A sincere thank you to everyone involved in making this happen <3 Legacy of Kain's story and voice acting are timeless and still unsurpassed. Raziel has been one of my all-time favourite characters since I was a child and the fact that there is a vampire Raziel skin is an epic win. I've been replaying the original SR2 and Defiance every few years, and I look forward to playing this version of Defaince many times over and seeing all the new content. All in all, this is how a remaster should be done.

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Posted on: March 3, 2026

IvanTheRysavy

Verified owner

Games: 284 Reviews: 9

Worth it for the camera alone

Worth it for the camera alone, the skins are nice and all the goodies are very nice too for super fans

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Edited on: March 7, 2026

Posted on: March 4, 2026

AcerWildhunt

Verified owner

Games: 246 Reviews: 2

Too many bugs with the audio

there are alot of bugs with the audio in cutscenes that get lowered and echo ---also they removed the voicelines that kain and raziel say when looking at the abilites and combos you unlock.--- They added the voicelines in the recent patch but the echo and lowered voices in certain scenes is still present. the 3rd person camera is great and there are extra features such as a map included. if they fix the above mentioned issues I would definitely change my rating for this game. heres hoping. Edit: After finishing the game I am a bit disappointed with a few things that I hope get fixed: The music that plays when Kain fights Raziel and the Elder god is not Blood Omen 2's Kains theme, such an odd change that I hope gets fixed or at least addressed. When Kain and Raziel talk with their inside voice the audio is heard more on the right than the left on my speakers and headphones. I may not be sure of this but it seems that the Vsync that is included HAS to be enabled so if you have a freesync monitor the physics will go haywire. Sometimes the game just randomly crashes, it only happened twice, once when I was heading into the Dark Reaver area, the cutscene that played with Raziels voice explaining what he was experiencing. The second was in Voradors Mansion when you shift through the gate on the roof before you have to cross to the other side of the Mansion. ---Maybe this cant be fixed but I hope it gets some attention, when you fight sometimes you can get stuck on the terrain and you have to leave combat with the LB button (I played on a KK3 Max) to get unstuck, this could be a problem with the combat and the new camera but I cant be sure since I didnt do much combat with the old camera and I cant be sure if it happened in the original defiance as it has been so long since I played it--- This seems to be have fixed. Those are just the problems that stood out to me im sure there are many more and I hope the developers release a patch soon. Edit: Previous review was 3 but I gave it a 4 since they seem to continue to patch the game after release and hopefully more gets fixed. I still would like to hear the BO2 Kains theme to play when playing as Kain in his fight with Raziel and the Elder God. Finally the music playing when Kain and Raziel speak in Avernus should be lowered since the music sometimes gets in the way of the dialogue, it is also an issue when Kain and Mobieus Speak for the 1st time in the Sarafan Dungeon.

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Edited on: March 4, 2026

Posted on: March 4, 2026

JoaoPauloZA

Verified owner

Games: 932 Reviews: 54

This is how a Remaster ought to be done

I've been a fan of this series since Activision published Blood Omen in the 90s. I must admit that because of this fact, I was highly skeptical of the Remaster. I will eat those words NOW and admit that this is exactly how a remaster should have been done and should be done in the future. A developer can't please everyone in all regards, but for the most part, the new textures are very well done, the character models are vastly improved, and the game simply seems almost to come alive. The sound and the voice acting are still as impeccable and captivating as back in the early 2000s when this game was originally released. There are a few hiccups now and again with the voices and effects, but they will most likely be patched soon enough. And the CAMERA! What a major improvement!!! We can now rotate and view the scenery in all its 360 degrees of glory. Mind you, I had no problems with the original camera whatsoever as it was designed as a fixed perspective in order to hide collectibles. However, this new camera simply enriches the experience so much more in my opinion. The controls are simply excellent when playing with a gamepad. I cannot speak for KB&M though. Why should you get it if you have the original? Well, the CAMERA alone is enough for me. But, the updated models, textures, and the insane amount of bonus content are other valid reasons. Not only do we have the Arcane Tomes from the original which include concept art, but also the Dark Chronicle makes a return including all FMVs. Just like the SR1&2 Remaster, we also receive the lost levels which were cut. We also now have an excellent music player which seems to include almost all, if not all the songs from the series. In addition, there are also an Encyclopedia, a History of Nosgoth, & a Trainer. There is a lot more that I could mention such as area maps, skins, and the fact you can switch to the older graphics mode while using the new camera, etc. The point is that this release is an excellent Remaster worthy of your time. Buy it now, or get it later. That's completely up to you. However, I highly recommend the experience to old fans and new alike. The only thing that I truthfully did not enjoy was the Ascendance skin pack. I found and find it rather gawdy and tasteless.

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